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need advice on fixing my 91 k-2500 voltmeter problems

R

ROYAL M.

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rUSSELLVILLE,AR
I've replaced altenator & battery , ran new wires to battery an altenator. The battery light still stays on voltmeter does not work unless i hit a hard bump or take off then quits again. I've put a jumper wire on single wire plug on to the battery post on altenator an batt. light went out what am i doin wrong on this so i can fix it please
 
Sounds like loose connection somewhere.
Does it charge even when the dash light is on and meter not reading?
 
no sir, it does not ,that's why i need help ,the pigtail lets it charge while its running ,but it puts a medium drain on the battery over night i just don't know what or how to fix it i've bought a volt meter to install just wondering if i can wire it to factory wires an it work the same as it does if so i think that would fix it just cant find any information on the net to do it ,the dash light went off with the pig tail in place but it confuseing to me
 
Ok, not charging is one thing. A drain overnight is another. It is possible the same damage could be causing both.

Chasing intermittent electrical problems is the hardest flipping thing. Having good tools for chasing the problems can save hours, days even. There are jury-rig ways of finding opens and shorts like using a compass, but learning it on a hard problem is nearly impossible. My suggestion is bite the bullet and get the best tools to do the job, then you have it for years to come.
here is quickest search to pop up, maybe look for a better price, but nothing out there gives faster results for someone that doesnt have a decade of chasing them.

http://www.tooldiscounter.com/ItemD...3Uw07FKL2MK27bTTi2HRlNCF9FZAS4ETNhxoCRuvw_wcB

You can try having someone watch the gauge while you go around shaking the wire harness. When you shake an area and the gauge starts being affected, tear into that part of the harness.

Adding more wires to bypass can be done, but you have to abandon the damaged harness area. Otherwise if a short is still there you can just catch the harness on fire. Ive seen many a rig burned to the ground over this. Once you supply backfednpower to a circuit that no longer blows a fuse and quits feeding- there is no safety anymore.

If you absolutely have to run temporary wire to bypass, disconnect the battery every time you shut off the truck. Have a fire extingusher next to you in the cab. Be ready to disconnect the battery at a moments notice.

As for where to look for the problem, you need to follow the harness from the battery to each end of the charging circuts.
 
user7146_pic943_1262911052.jpg If I'm understanding you correctly, the drain only happens when you connect a pigtail to jumper the alternator? If so, that is normal. The alternator will draw 3-5 amps with it fielded and the engine not running. Another warning, DO NOT DO THIS FOR MORE THAN A MINUTE. Otherwise permanent damage can be done to the voltage regulator as cs-130 alternators require a 35 ohm resistor be installed in the field wire(it's part of the cluster if it has a charge warning light). The voltmeter has no control if it charges or not. You need to do some checks here to see whats up. You'll need a test light here to go any furthur, but they're simple checks. First make sure the large cable is receiving battery positive and in good shape(no burns in the fusible link). Next step is to check the alternator plug. You only need 1 wire if I recall correctly to make cs-130 work, and thats the trigger wire. There needs to be a 35 ohm resistor in this circuit as the regulator backfeeds current, and a direct connection will damage it. But the L terminal in your plug should have positive voltage present with the key in the run position. Insert your test light into the L terminal in the plug, and it should light up when the keys on. If it does, the circuits working, if it doesn't you'll need to find the break in the harness or check to see if the resistor in your cluster is burnt.
 
thanks fellas this is more than the folks here can do for me ill keep yall posted on my progress and some pics of my ugly duckling
 
ok fellas my entire truck is dead no power no nothing been on charger for 3 days an now the battery wont charge this is so dang cofuseing on what needs to be done any more sugestions would be apprecated
 
At this point I'd start with the basics (and a digital volt meter).

Pull the battery and get it tested. From the descriptions it sounds like it went door-nail-dead more than once and this will kill it (even a brand-new one).

Toward troubleshooting, consider:
> Get a full charge / good battery, disconnect any charging, immediately check the voltage, wait 1 hour, and then check again to determine the baseline amount of drain. Recharge battery.

> After completing the recharge, completely disconnect the alternator, wait 1 hour, and check the voltage. If the voltage continued to drop at the baseline rate, it was not the alternator and we move-on. If the voltage did not drop anywhere near as much as the baseline rate, we have a culprit.

> If the alternator was not the likely source, recharge, disconnect the starter, wait 1 hour, and check the voltage. You get the idea from here . . .

If the starter was not the culprit, look for other likely candidates and check out each one. Also, can go through the fuse panel and relay panel in the same systematic manner.
 
ok thanks for the input, went through the fuse panel last night all fuses were good an put a voltmeter on each wire all battery wires checked out at 13.20 power block on firewall all those wires checked out the same the exciter wire was running at 10.20 to 12.49 constant fluxuation i took battery to shop tested good an it tested 13.90 till i hooked up battery wires then dropped to 13.20 which is good so i'm assuming the problem is with the volt gauge in the truck or the exciter wire that's the only 2 things i cant figure out how to change y'all have been great on helping me out couldn't ask for a better group of guys thanks
 
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